Pro Bowl 2016

I’m a football junkie. Even more so, I’m a Buccaneer junkie. So when I received an offer to take a trip to Hawaii to work the Pro Bowl, let’s just say it didn’t take much twisting of my arm to accept the job (even though a crazy thing about me is that I absolutely hate flying, especially over the ocean). Originally, my buddy Gerald McCoy was one of two Buccaneer players invited to play in the all-star game (Doug Martin being the other). If you’ve ever followed me, you know that I am a HUGE fan of Gerald and the rest of his family, so I was excited to be able to be up there with them for the week. However, the night before I left I got the news that Jameis Winston was named an alternate, as were Lavonte David and Logan Mankins. My excitement level went up about a million percent!

Now full disclosure, my primary job for the Pro Bowl was not to take pictures. I was asked to interview certain players for joebucsfan.com. In no way am I trained in interviewing players, but I did the best I could, and I don’t think I made too big of a fool of myself. At least I hope not. This is my third Pro Bowl I’ve done this for now, so I’d like to think I’m getting better. I know the players aren’t thrilled about asking questions in the middle of what is supposed to be a vacation for them, so I really appreciate them taking the time to speak with me. We have some really good guys on the Buccaneers, and I can’t wait for us to start winning, because they really deserve it. For all the negative things you hear on TV about football players, there are guys like Gerald McCoy who do so many great things for the community.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures throughout the week of practice (I did not work the game. Instead I sat in the stands and got to enjoy the game as a fan.

The McCoy Family

Coach Gruden made an appearance to practice. I got to interview him, which was quite an honor.